Drying machine



Nov. 6, 1928.

H. H. WIGGLESWORTH DRYING MAcHiNE Filed April 29, 1924 3 Sheets$heet INVEN TOR Hang H. Wyglesmriiz, B W

0R NE YS.

Nov. 6, 1928. 1,690,439

H. H. WIGGLESWQRTH INVENTOR:

WITNESSES.-

- 40 ;& fiarlyfi. mpyleswori w w v all I -A TORIYEYS.

Patented Nov. 6, 1928.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HARRY WIGGLEiWOBTH, O]? PHILADELPHIA, PENN'SYIiVANIL'ASSIGNORI 'IO?HII.-ADELPHIA. DRYING MACHINERY CUMIPANY; OF IHILADELPHIAJ, PENNSYL-VAN-IA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

DRYING mourns.

' mlicatiolr filed- 561111139 1924'. Ser-Lal No;- 7093751,

This invention relates to drying machines, and it is more particularlydirected to mar chines embodying en 'annul a r drying enclosure providedwith means for transporting separate arti'eie-caernying forms there.-

thiough -in closel'y alliedrelatione-witlr provision tor egress andingressat definite stations, whereby the necessary operatmns ofstripping and boarding may be efii ciently accomplished; 1

An object of this invent-ion is to provide a; novel means whereby theseparate articlecan'yingforms are withd rwwn withprecision from thedrying enclosure tor" stripping and reclothing, and returned into saiddrying enclosure automatically.

Another ob eot 1s to provide' means Whereby the separate aitlclecarrymgtowns receive a half-turn at the stripping 10mm,

so as to be in proper directional position for reentry into the dryingenclosure after be 111;: reclothed.

Further objects of this invention are to: provide a compact dryingmachine which is comparatively cheap to construct, automatic inoperation, and very efficient in-use.

Other objects and attendant advantages Will-4T1" associatedwith thisinvention part-be hereafter particulars-zed, or becomeobvious, from thefollowing description; but

of' one practical embodiment thereof. and in which corresponding partsare designated hv like indices in all the views.

Fig. I, isa vertical sectional elevation of a drying machineconventionally embody-- i no: my invention.

Fig. II, is an enlarged fragmentary plan no ain-ly' ill U strative ofthemeans for effecting egress and ingress of the article-carrying formsrelative to the drying chamber.

Fig. III. is a side elevation of the preced ins: figure;

Fig. IV. tion takeri' substantially in Fig; II

is an enlarged sectional elevaon the line I VIV FigsV, is a fragmentaryplan view show ing: the manner in which the article-carry ingfformsreceive a half-turn at the stripping,

locationfl Fig.1 VI, is a detail plan of the means effeetive to transferthe articlecarrying forms from the drying. enclosure conveyor to theexterior progressing; means; and,

F ig; VII, is a detail: View of drying iiorm supports, e

Before enteringv upon: a detailed closer-i1) tion or the: specificdevicesconstitutingythe subject mutter per se-ofthe present in:-vontion, it will be noted that thedryingina chine illustrated is moreparticu-lairlyadept, ed as-"a hosiery drier omnp'nises a cylin dricaslenclosure 8 of conventional" construetion". This enclosure 8, issupported by an appropriwte framework of? standard section verticals 9,.9 braced by transverse angles 150, 111 to afford: a rigidi understructure for the accommodation of certain instrumentalitireshereinarfter fully described; whiie the roof and: bottom or saidenclosure are respectively? designated! 12,. 1 3'. T

Concentric wi: h the roof 12: there is -pro v-irded at funnelshaped dome14- aiford ingiam exhaust outlet lb-undercontrol: OZEkWII Bid-jUShaFhie-butterfly dtvmper 16;

Appropriately supported co axially with-- inhthe enclosure 8 is acylindnicali conduit or air-duct 17, tlie upper end whereof is partially closed in to. afford an opening. '18,: in which is located ahorizontally rotatable lain 1-9, the sheiit 20 whereof-is journeledi in?shearing Qli supportedi byz transverse angles 22 rigidly secured to thewfOIGSEIL'lCII OO-f12; Rotary motion is imparted to: the fan19=hy meansof w miter gear 23 on theshaflt 20 meshing Wit-hi a; complemental gear24 at; the inner end of a' radially disposed 'counter shaft 25 journaledin bearings 26. 26 This countershaifit 25 is. in turn, rotatedhyqneakn's: of a belt drive 27 and, it is also provided-' at itsoverhanging end with a conepuil'ey 28,- for a purpose later onexplained? Arranged concentric within,- and in close juxtaposition tothe roof and bottom 1 2, 1 3 respectively, of the enclosure '8- areannular headers 29'; QQconnectedi loyven'tical pipes gO;

through which theheating medium is circu-- lated in accordance withprevailing practime.

one of the,

The drying enclosure bottom 13, as best seen by" Figs. I-III,comprisesran outeriannular section 31, and a concentric disc 32,

which is attached to an embossment 33, on

the upper surface of a turntable or spider 34 functional as hereafterexplained'to progress separate or individually disconnectedarticle-carrying forms 35 through the annular drying space 36intervening the inner wall of the enclosure 8 and air-conduit 17.

that the perimetrical flange 37 is coextensive with or includes the wallof the pockets 38 and thereby affords substantial guidance for" a pivotpin or stud 40-Figs. IV and VII integral with or attached to the carriershoe 41 clamped at the bottom portion of each article-carrying form 35.It is also to be par-- 4' ticularly noted that the disc portion 32 ofthe enclosure bottom 13 is supported by, and rotates with the turntableor spider 34, while it is provided with a series of narrow radial slots42 in alignment Withbut spaced relative to-the longitudinal centers ofthe aforesaid pockets 38.. The width of the slots 42 is of a dimensionto freely accommodate the thickness of the forms 35, and. it will bereadily apparent that when the forms are en gaged in said slots theywill be positively held 1n relative radial relation. Further, thetongues of material intervening the radial slots42 are sustained inrigid parallel relation relative to the turntable or spider 34 by shortchannel sections 43, fixed therebetween in'any of the well known ways.

The means operativev to rotate the turn.- table or spider 34 and bottomdisc portion 32 and effect progression of the separate forms 35 throughthe annular drying space 36, coin-' prises a crown gear 44 attached tothe lower end of the spider pivot stud 45 ournaled in a bearing 46,supported by parallel transverse angles: 47 in accordance withconventional practice. Adapted to intermittently rotate the crown gear44 is ausingle tooth pinion48-Fig. IIIat one end of a stub shaft 49journaled in a bearing- 50; and said shaft is fitted with a miter gear51 meshing with a complemental gear 52 one countershaft 53, in turndriven through the medium of a worm wheel 54, and Worm 55 on atransverse shaft 56' journaled in bearings 57 mounted at suitablelocations below the dry,- ing enclosure 8. The transverse shaft 56 isfitted with a. stepped pulley 58 and itis driven by a belt 5.9;fron1 thecone pulley 28 on the radial countershaft 25 hereinbefore referred to.To afford egress and ingress for the article-y carrying forms 35 out of,and into, the annular drying space 36, I have provided the enclosureshell with spaced vertical openings 60, 61, said openings being ofsufficient width to ensure free passage of clothed forms 35 edge on, ashereafter fully explained.

Having set forth the conveying means for progressing the forms 35through the drying space 36, I will now describe the associated meanseffective to withdraw successive forms therefrom, and transport the samecxteriorly for stripping and reclothing prior to subsequent return intosaid drying space. The mechanism and instruinentalities involvedcomprise superposed tracks 62, 63 supported by verticals 64, 64 ofstandard sections the former of which are rigidly braced by a transversetie 65, of like section. As shown, the upper track 62 embraces spacedlyopposed angle sections affording a raceway 66, aligning with thevertical openings 60, 61, and said track is inwardly extended intojuxtaposed relation with respect to the perimctrical upper edge of theturntable or spider 34. On the, other hand, the lower track 63,comprises closely abutting opposed angle sections, and it is extendedsomewhat further inwardly below the turntable or spider 34 with its freeends connected by an anglesection 67, to which a bearing 68 is rigidlysecured. This bearing 68, in conjunction with a similar bearing69-inounted on an angle section 70, in turn secured to transversemembers 71, 71 rigidly attached to the aforementioned verticals 6all'ord journal for a vertical shaft 72 to the upper end whereof iskeyed or otherwise attached a sprocket wheel 73.

Journaled in bearings 74, 75 rigidly sustained by a subframework ofstandard section verticals 76 and attached horizontals 77, is a verticalshaft 78, to which iskeyed a relative-.

ly large sprocket wheel 79, co-planal with, and adapted to transmitrotary motion to the hereinbefore referred to shaft 72 through themedium of a chain drive 80 for a purpose later on fully set forth. Atthis juncture it is well to note that the shaft 78, is also affordedbearing in the hubs 81, 82, of upper and lower three-armed spiders 83,84 respectively. The spider 83, it will be remarked, and best observedby an examination of Figs. II and IV, is functional to brace and sustainthe inner member of the aforesaid track 62, rigidly co planal withrespect to the outer member thereof--while the purpose of the spider 84will be later on referred to-- and at the same time prevent thecurvature of said track from distortion incident to temper:

ole-carrying form from the intermittently moved turntable or spider 34,and progress sameexteriorlyof the drying enclosure 8,1 provide the chaindrive at intervals with laterally disposed lugs 91, to each of which ispivoted a three-point star or attaclnnent 92, by means'of averticalstud93. These three-point star attachments '92, it will be observed,engageas hereafter fully ex plained-the rods or pivot pins 40 below eachj article-carrying form 35; and each said rodor pin 40'is fitted at itslower end with antifriction roller 94 adapted to traverse the lowertrack 63.. Furthermore, the three-point star attachments 92 areafi'ordedlateral guidance by an auxiliary track which is] supported at the outerend by'the three armed spider '84, and at the inner end in anyconvenient mannerb the bearing 68 or angle,

brace 67, to afior ,a clearance intermediate the points 96, QT -Fig.,VI.

Referring once againto the article-carryin form shoes 41, and in orderto impart a ha iaturn thereto at the stripping station, it will be bestunderstood, from an examination of Figs. Hand Vmoreparticularly, thatthe outer vertical flange of the traclctSQ cut away between the points98, 99., while the inner vertical flange is fitted with a spring tongueor switch 100. Incidentally it may be noted that the carrier shoe 41 isundercut at 101.Fig. VII-to clear the switch and "relatively lowervertical wall 1020f the inner track-member 62f while the longitudi nalwalls of said shoe relatively converge to automatically assist thehalf-turn abovere ferred to. i

As best shown in Fig. II it will be seen that the annular section 31 ofthe drying en- 61-and it will be readily understood that.

each successive partial rotation of the turntableor spider 34 moves anZLItlClQ-CEUFYlHg form 35 into eo-alignment therewith. Still further itmay be remarked that the headers 29, 29 terminate at on the outboardsideof each vertical slots'60, 61 in order to more free egress andingress for the forms 35, as well as to prevent wastage of the heatingme diiun' during the periodof time said forms are exterior to thedryingenclosure.

In operation, and assuming that the drying machineis, as illustrated,intended for serv-. ice as a hosiery drier, and that an operativestationed. at S for stripping the dried articles from the forms 35, anda second op erative is .locatedat .B for boarding or reclothing saidforms with wet articlesto be treated, the sequence of operations may bebriefly summarized as follows. Motion being imparted to thecounter-shaft 25,=thetan 19', and transverse shaft 56 willbecontinuously rotated by the means hereinbetfore described; Rotation ofthe transverse shaft 56' will, through the worm gear 55, and, singletooth pinion 48 and crown gear 44 iiinpart an intermittent rotarymovement to the turntable or spider 34, whereby the articlecarryi-ngforms are progressed through the drying 's'oace 19, in radiallydisposedrelat j ly stationary relation. Simultaneously with the movements ustset forth the short transverse shat't 87 will be continuously driventhrough the medium of the worm gear 89, by the transverse shaft 56, andas a result thereof the vertical. shaft '58 will receive an intermittentpartial turn through the medt. urn of the dwell spaced gear 86, andbevel gear 85-. At this juncture. it may be well to note that themeshing relation of the gearsSF), 86 is in the ratio of two to one; or,in other words the gear 85, having a full comple ment of teeth, thedwell spaced gear Sdwill be provided with only one half the number,withone-half of its operative surface stripped and in blank. Thisrelative; relation of the gears 85, 86, however, may be otherwise pro:portioned but the ratio s cc d is particug larly adapted for the machineassei-nblage illustrated.

Concurrent with the intermittent partial rotation of the vertical shaft7-8, rotary mo tion will be transmitted the vertical shaft 72 by meansoiithe chaindrive SOand sprocket. wheels 79, 73. Note is here made, thatonehalf revolution of the sprocket wheel 79 will effect withdrawal of anarticle-carrying form 35 from the drying's 'iace 36, and its returntherein-to by three successive lateral'movements with a dwell orstationary period intervening'ai'ter each said movement as hereafterexplained.

Now, in so far, the successdve lateral movements just referred toare-concerned, and assuming that a form 35 is in aligning registrationwith the egl essslotslllil, .60, it will be readily comprehended thatone of the radial limbs of the three-point star 92 is in engagement withthe pivot pin 40 thercuiiider. ll-it-ermittenttravel of the chain drive80, as hcreinbefore set forth, will progress the form 35 outwardlyrelative to the ei'iclosure 8 through the slots l3,'60, to the stationfialong the raceway 66, radial aligning guidance being afforded by thevertical walls o? the track 62. As the shoe ll of the form 35 approachesthe station S -avhereat the dried stocking I'GIHOVQGl HDd by referenceto Fig. 11, it will be readily understood that one of its convergingwalls engages the switch 100, whereby said form will be retained tourporarily at rest. The succeeding partial rotation of the vertical shaft78, will progress the stripped form 35 from the station S tostation B,whereat it is reclothed by an operative with a fresh wet hose. It ishowever to be particularly noted, that concurrentlywwith the ilastmentioned progressive movement of the form 35, and at the commencementthereof, said form will receive a complete half-turn aboutits piVotpinlO by frictional rolling action set up between the rounded end 106cooperating with the spring 'switchlOO, and coaction of the form 35 atthe be deposited by its pivot pin -l-0 in a radial pocket 38 of theturntable or spider 34:, and held radially stationary within asuperposed registering slot 42 of the concentric disc 32. Incidentally,it is to be remarked that, the

"next intermittent travel of the chain drive SOwill swing thethree-point star 92 firstly in a counter-clockwise d rection until thearm thereofis freed from'contact with the pivot arily re-engaged by thetrack 95 for cooperation with thepivot pin designated 40 in Fig. VI, ofthe successive forms 35 to be transferred from the turntable or spider34 for exterior progression, as aforesaid. 7

From the foregoing, it is thought that the progressive course of theseveral clothed forms 35 through the annular drying space 36 will beclearly understood without further explanation, but it is desired tonote that they will be constantly subjected to the action of a dryingmedium following a looped directional course as indicated by the'arrowson Fig. I; while the escape of said medium through the openings 60, G1,and around the rotary bottom 32 is purely negligible.

Furthermore, it is desired to specially stress the synchronousintermittent movements of the turntable or spider 34 and chain drive 80,whereby the successive operations of form transference are positivelyeffected with alternating dwell periods, so that stripping and boardingconsecutive detached forms 35 is accomplished with ease and precision.Another. feature of particular. note is the manner, and means, wherebyeach form 35 receives a half-turn subsequent to stripping concurrentlywith initial progression from stripping location to reclothing position.

From the foregoing description and explanation of the operationsinyolved, it is believed that the numerous advantages asso-.. ciatedwith my improved drying machine. will be obvious without furtherelaboration; and, although one practical embodiment thereof has beendescribedin detail, it is not to be limited thereto, or more liberallyinterpreted than the scope of the appended claims permits. s a

Having thus described my invention, I claim I 1. In a drying machinehaving a cylindrical drying chamber; a rotatable closure thereforadapted to progress detached form carriers, the form portions whereoftraverse said chamber and are held against relative positionaldisplacement by said closure; means functional to radially withdraw andreturn successive carriers for form strippingand cloth-- ing; and meansto impart a half-turn to each successive carrier intermediate theperiods of radial movement so that it re-enters the machine with.non-reversed directional displacement. c i

9.. In a drying machine having a cylindrical. drying chamber; arotatable closure therefor adapted to progress detached form carriers,the form portions whereof traverse said chamher and are held againstrelative positional displacement by said closure; means functional toradially withdraw and return successive form carriers with interveningdwell periods for stripping and clothing; and means operative to imparta half-turn to each form carrier intermediate. withdrawal and. return sothat the form re-enters the drying space with nonrevcrsed directionaldisplacement.

3. In a drying machine having a cylindrical drying chamber a rotatableclosure therefor adapted to progress detached form carriers, theformporti'onswhereof traverse said Cllllfl'lher and are held againstrelative positional displacement by said closure; means functional toradially reciprocate successive car riers with intervening dwell periodsfor stripping and clothing the forms; and means oper- 1 ative to imparta half-turn to each form after stripping so thatit is returned into themachine with non-reversed directional displacement. k

4. In a drying machine having a cylindrical 1 1 drying chamber; arotatable closure therefor adapted to progress detached form carriers,the form portions whereof traverse said chamber and are held againstrelative PQSl'? tional displacement by said closure; means functional toradially withdraw and return the form carriers by equal progressivestages with intervening dwell periods to el'lect stripping and clothing;and means operative to impart a half-turn to each successive carrier sothat the attached form is returned into the drying machine withnon-reversed displacement.

5. In a drying machine having a cylindrical drying chamber; anintermittently rotat- 13p "sa i dclosure.

6; In a drying machine having a cylindrioat drying chamber; a rotatableconveyor and spaced closure therefor, said conveyor having a series ofradial pockets adapted to engage V detached form carriers. and theclosure portionhaving radial slots effective to, receive the formportions and, prevent relative positional displacement thereofduringprogression uhroughthe drying chamber.

In a 'drying maohine including an enolosure a turntmhlehavinga series ofperipheral for; progressive detached forms through said enclosure, and asuperposed concentric rotatable bottom for said closure having radialdots aligning overtheatoresaid pockets, smidslots being effective tohold the .vals for cooperation with a projection on each form carrier.

9. Ina drying machine including means for progressing detached formcarriers horizontally therethrough, means functional to radiallywithdraw and return successive form carriers with intervening dwellperiods for stripping and reclothing, said means comprising anintermittently progressed endless chain having pivoted tappets forcooperation with a stud on each form carrier.

10. In a drying machine including a con veyor for progressing formcarriers therethrough, the combination of an intermittently progressedchain having pivoted tappets adapted to radially withdraw and returnsuccessive form carriers by engaging a stud on each said carrier, andmeans normally preventing rotation of the tappets.

11. In a drying machine including a conveyor, for progressing formcarriers therethrough, an endless chain adapted to radially withdraw andreturn successive form carriers by equal progressive movements withintervening dwell periods, spaced tappet-s pivoted on said chain forengagement with a stud on each said carrier, means affording exteriorguidance for the form carrier from, and return to, the conveyoraforesaid, and

means normally preventing rotation of the tappets.

12. In a drying machine including a conveyor for progressing formcarriers therethrough; an endless chain adapted to radially withdraw andreturn successive form carriers by equal progressive movements withinterveningdwel-l, periods ta ppets pivoted on the endless chainrorengagementwith a stud on each said carrier; means I affording lateralsupport and guidance for the; carrier from, and return to, the conveyor;andan auxiliary guide normally preventing,rotation of the tappets.

.13. In a drying machine including a conveyor for-progressin-g'formcarriers therethrough endless chain adapted to radially Withdraw andreturn successive form Ecarr-iers byequal progressive movements withintervening dwell periods; tappetspivoted to chain for coaction with astud on each said carrier and superposed tracks effective tosupportin-gly gui e the'torm carriers exterior ly of the machine, oneofsaid tracks being traversed by an anti-friction roller on,

and the other serving as a raceway 'fon 'the form carrier studs. 14. Inadrying,machine'comprisin 'acylindrical drying chamber; a rdtatab econveyor without said chamber for" progressing radially retained formstherethrough, and an associated means for radiallywithdrawing andreturning successive forms for stripping and reclothing, flexible meanseffective to impart a half turn to each form carrier after stripping andprior to reclothing.

15. In a drying machine including an enclosure, a conveyor forprogressing form carriers horizontally therethrough, an associated meansfor radially Withdrawing and returning the form carriers for strippingand reclothing at intervals during progression over an exterior track,said track having an interruption and an. opposedly related springtongue effective to impart a half-turn to each successive form carrierafter stripping and prior to re/clothing.

16. In a. drying machine including an enclosure, and an intermittentlyrotatable form conveyor, the combination of an endless chain forradially withdrawing and returning successive forms, said endless chainhaving spaced three-point pivoted tappets adapted to co-act with a studon each form, and an auxiliary'track affording normal non-rotatableguidance for the three-point tappets, 7 said track having aninterruption whereat each tappet is rotatable about its pivot to engagesuccessive forms, and thereby effect its removal from, and return to,the conveyor aforesaid.

17. In a drying machine comprising an annular drying enclosure, aconveyor for progressing form carriers therethrough, an endless chainwith rotatable attachments for ra dially withdrawing and returning saidform carriers for stripping and reclothing, and means adapted tointermittently progress the conveyor and endless chain with positivesynchronism.

18. In a drying machine of the type de-= scribed, the combination of aseriesoi form riers to stripping and reclothing locations, the

upper of said tracks constituting a raceway and being provided with aninterruption and anopposed spring specified. t, y 1201 In a dryingmachine comprising an annular enclosure, the combination of a rotatableradially slotted bottom, and means transporting a series of formcarriers-projecting tongue, for the purpose freely through the slottedbottom into'the annular enclosurewith capacity for direct radialejection and retraction for stripping and afterreclothing, respectively.

2 1. In a drying machine having an annular enclosure, the combination ofa horizontally rotatable radially-slotted bottonnand means transportinga series of vertically disposed form carriers-projecting upwardlythrough the slotted bottominto the annular enclosure with capacity fordirect lateral ejection and retraction for stripping and afterreclothing, respectively. i

"-22. In a drying machine having an annular enclosure, the combinationof a horizontally rotatableradially slotted bottom, andmeansintermittently progressing a series of verti-' cally disposed formcarriers- -sprojecting upw'ardly through the slotted bottominto saidannular enclosurewith capacity for direct lateral ejection andretraction relative to the enclosure'for stripping and after reclothing,respectively. i 7

"In testimony whereof I have here uito signed my name at Philadelphia,Pennsylvania, this'25th day'of April, 192% HARRY H. WIGGLESWQRGIHJ;

